Half marathon training – Week 5 – Mid week long run

Posted by Cecilia on Saturday, May 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I’m running an 8K road race tomorrow morning (Beat the Bridge) so I had to rearrange my runs this week and do my 11 mile long run on Wednesday morning. This required a bit of planning and was really only feasible because I have the flexibility to work from home on occasion. That being said, here’s how I got it done:

  • 5:00 am – Alarm 1 goes off, eat a bowl of oats soaked overnight in soy milk and drink 500 mL of water
  • 5:10 am – Go back to bed
  • 6:30 am – Alarm 2 goes off, eat banana, drink 250 mL of water, putter around and gear up for run
  • 7:00 am – Depart on 11 mile run
  • 9:00 am – Return from 11 mile run, stretch, shower and make second breakfast
  • 9:30 am – Eat blueberry pancakes and start work day

The long run itself went OK. I chose a fairly flat out and back route but my legs still started feeling tight and tired after the turn around. I’ve been pretty good about getting my evening yoga sessions in so I hope that in the long run that will help with the tightness (especially as my mileage increases). The rest of the week’s runs were unremarkable. That’s not a bad thing, I just don’t have too much to say about them.

11/05 - Rest day
12/05 5.0 mi Easy run: avg 10:29 min/mile
13/05 11.0 mi Long run: avg 10:24 min/mile
14/05 4.0 mi Recovery run: avg 10:08 min/mile
15/05 - Rest day
16/05 5.0 mi Easy run: avg 9:52 min/mile
17/05 5.0 mi Beat the Bridge 8K Race
Total 30.0 mi YTD: 492.7 miles


I’m feeling pretty good about tomorrow’s race but I’m not sure how speedy I’ll be. I’ve wanted to do Beat the Bridge for several years but for one reason or another it’s never worked out before. There’s a draw bridge at the 2 mile mark that goes up 20 minutes after the last wave (which will be my wave since it’s for anyone running >8:00 min/mile) starts. Here’s a picture. The goal, of course, is to beat the bridge! The race is replacing a tempo run in my training schedule so it’s by no means an “A” race for me. I just plan to get out there, push hard and see what happens. I still had to make a goal list though:

  • Goal #1: The dream goal -  <40:00
  • Goal #2: Set a new PB – <40:53
  • Goal #3: Rock out the tempo run  – <43:00
  • Goal #4: Beat the Bridge – First 2 miles in under 20 minutes by gun time

Check in tomorrow for a race report!

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